The Revelation Series
Commentary from 12 scholars
OTY: The Revelation (10) - Jack Kelley
Revelation 10-11:14
A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
We take a break from the Trumpet Judgments now to give the world its final warnings before the Great Tribulation begins. These are the Seven Thunders and the Two Witnesses that God has sent to Israel to warn His people to "get right with God" while there's still time. Remember, at the end of the Battle of Ezekiel 38-39, God will bring every living Jew to Israel, leaving none behind. (Ezek. 39:28) Even though many will be martyred, especially among those who've found the Messiah, there'll still be a huge population of Jews in Israel with a fully functioning Temple. In the sequence of events, the Abomination of Desolation hasn't happened yet so they haven't had to flee into the mountains of Jordan. The 144,000 and the Tribulation Saints will help complete this world wide evangelistic "last call."
The Angel and the Little Scroll
Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, "Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down." (Rev 10:1-4) Lots of things in this passage hint at the possible identity of this angel. He's clothed in a cloud and his legs are like pillars of fire, which reminds us of the Angel of the Lord who protected the Israelites in the wilderness. The Rainbow over his head is symbolic of God's mercy. His voice is like the roar of a lion. The voice of the Lord is compared to thunder seven times in Psalm 29. Could it be the Lord? His identity is not specified but whether he is or not doesn't really impact our understanding of the passage.
The Seven Thunders most probably contain an undisclosed warning by God between the 6th and 7th Trumpets. John was about to detail this for us when the Lord told him not to.
In Psalm 29 the voice of the Lord is mentioned seven times and is compared to the sound of thunder. The name of the Lord is given four times in the two-verse introduction of the Psalm and four times more in the two-verse conclusion (four is the number of Creation). It appears ten times in verses 3 through 9 (ten is a number that denotes the completeness of Divine Order) and the phrase "Voice of the Lord" is repeated seven times (seven is the number of perfection). Psalm 29 is often called "the Seven Thunders of God" as well.
With the coming Seventh Trumpet, we'll be told that the Kingdoms of the world have become the Kingdom of our Lord (Rev. 11:15) and for the first time the traditional translation of God's name as "the One Who is and Who was and Who is to come" is changed to just "the One Who is and Who was" (Rev. 11:17) also indicating that His reign has begun. (Some translations put the "Is to Come" part back in but the Greek text doesn't include it.)
This means that in the Heavenly view, the Great Tribulation will have begun. After Satan's losing battle in Heaven and confinement to Earth in Rev. 12, the anti-Christ makes his official appearance on Earth as Satan's host at the beginning of Rev. 13. (He first came on the scene in Rev. 6 as a mere man.) This signals the start of the Great Tribulation on Earth. The seven Bowl judgments begin soon thereafter.
Put all this together and you can make a circumstantial case that the Seven Thunders will announce that the Great Tribulation with its Bowl Judgments will complete the Divine Order, perfectly satisfying God's righteous requirement that the people of Earth be judged for their sins, and leaving Earth in a condition of readiness to receive her King.
Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, "There will be no more delay! But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets."
Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: "Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land."
So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey." I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings." (Rev. 10:5-11)
The Lord told John to take the scroll and eat it. At first taste, it seemed sweet as honey, but after he swallowed it, his stomach turned sour. This is to signify that as followers of the Lord, we anticipate the fulfillment of End Times prophecy with much excitement and joy. We join with the souls of the righteous slain in crying, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" (Rev. 6:10) We know His judgment is righteous, and that He's been long-suffering, patient almost to a fault. But because our enemy is so intent upon succeeding in his rebellion against God, the horror and carnage of the warfare necessary to accomplish his defeat is enough to make you sick.
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